


Balancing the Scales

by EnberLight



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Captivity, Cuddling & Snuggling, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Mermaid Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Minor Injuries, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnberLight/pseuds/EnberLight
Summary: Adrien's father has gone off the deep end. Or so the young man suspects, when he's abruptly moved out of his spacious suite without explanation, and watches contractors convert it into an indoor aquarium. He'd asked Gabriel if he could have a pet for years, but this seemed ridiculous - and completely out of character for it to be some sort of surprise apology gift for missing a decade or so of his son's birthdays. But the two creatures the fashion mogul has imported for his next photoshoot aren't your typical exotic fish, and Adrien finds himself transfixed by furious sea-blue eyes.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 69
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been in the works since 2017. It's a complete AU, so it won't be following canon events. I'm illustrating parts of it, keep an eye out on Tumblr @CaffeinatedMagpie, Insta @HuntressLightDesigns, and my Tumblr main, @EnberLight.
> 
> Please enjoy!

The drive back from University was a long one, and Adrien had allowed himself to drift off into a light sleep in the back seat of the sedan as Gorilla drove. The long straightaways eventually gave way to the stops, starts, and multitude of turns that signaled entry into Paris. As the pattern became familiar, Adrien parted his eyes, half-watching the bustling of life outside the tinted, soundproofed vehicle. He was in his own sanitized, pre-approved chrome and leather bubble. Decadence from the outside, all gleaming in muted gold with power Everything, but nothing more than another sterile cage on the inside. Adrien sighed, shifting up in his seat to people-watch for the last leg of the trip, wondering again what it would be like to walk free like that. He'd had a taste this past semester, but coursework didn't exactly offer the space for the kind of freedom he craved.

At least he'd be out of the stifling luxury of the sedan soon, and into the more spacious claustrophobia of his ballroom-turned-bedroom back at the Agreste mansion. There he could almost pretend the lovely two-story floor-to-ceiling windows didn't look just like prison bars.

His forehead thunked into the car window, air-conditioned glass cool against his skin and fogging from his breath. At least his bed at home was comfier than the one at his dorm?

The mansion was only a few turns away, so Adrien reached for his satchel, then let the strap drop, forgotten, as the back of the house came into view. Scaffolding rose from the garden, draped with blue tarps that obscured his bedroom windows.

_ Well that's odd, _ he thought, absently wondering if those platforms would make it easier, or harder, to sneak out of his room later. “Um, what's all that?” he gestured to the mess of construction. Gorilla only grunted, shoulders lifting briefly as he pulled through the automated gates and into the drive.

“Right…” The gravel under the tires made more noise than Gorilla’s reply as he parked and exited the car, moving around to open the door for his charge. Adrien pulled his satchel over his shoulder with a theatrical sigh and a shrug of his own. “I guess Father hasn't suddenly become forthcoming while I was away, huh?” He gained a bemused grunt from the bodyguard, and grinned in reply. “I guess I'll just investigate!” 

The young man dashed up the stairs, spinning to sidestep the massive front door as it opened, revealing a harried Nathalie exiting with not one but three clipboards juggled in her arms. The omnipresent tablet slipped free of her grip, caught just in time as Adrien dipped down to catch it before it smashed on the stairs. Nathalie restacked the clipboards, holding her hand out tersely for the digital gateway to all things Gabriel and Timely.

“Welcome back, Adrien.” Her tone, as ever, was dry and to the point. “Gorilla will be taking your bags upstairs to the guest wing, the Blue Room has been prepared for you.” She shuffled the clipboards into a stack, with the tablet nestled more safely at the top against her chest.

“...Guest wing? Nathalie, I haven't been gone  _ that _ long, have I? I'm still family, right?” Adrien ignored the slight roll of her eyes as he tried to peer around the piles of building material in the foyer. Workmen were moving in and out of his room at the top of the grand staircase. Hammering, sawing, and whirring noises echoed out into the sterile marble halls. Noticing that Nathalie hadn't answered, he turned to see her very purposefully studying the papers in one clipboard, her brow clearly marred by an irritated crease. Her lips were even pursed. What was  _ on _ those papers? He'd never seen her so expressive. “Nathalie..?”

She finally focused her gaze back to him, shuttering her face into its usual clean slate. “My apologies. Your father has me managing all… this… and certain elements of it are… refusing management. You'll have to excuse me.”

“What  _ is _ ‘all this,’ though? Is he starting a B and B? A disco hall, maybe? An indoor cross-country track to replace the halfpipe?” Adrien's teasing expression froze in place at the cold look his attempts at humor gained him.  _ Yikes _ .

“You'll have to have your father explain all that,” she replied, and turned on her heel back into the house. The clack of her shoes was quickly covered by the construction noise as she strode through the foyer and around the corner to the doors of Gabriel’s atelier. Adrien caught up to her just before she clicked to a stop. Two smart raps of her knuckle against the door, a quick “Sir, Adrien is here,” and she was spinning back on her heel, back through the foyer, and out the front door without another glance at the confused model. Adrien was left staring after her until Gorilla came in with his bags, closing the entry door and blocking out the last bit of natural light. His gaze turned back to the closed doors of his father's sanctuary.

_ ‘Well, here goes nothing…’ _ Shifting his satchel and straightening himself and his clothes, he prepared to face the man who, apparently, was welcoming him home by kicking him out of his own room. (Or had forgotten he was even due home. Maybe it was a compensation upgrade and he just had the timing wrong. Given he had a walking, breathing schedule drone at his side 24/7, Gabriel Agreste was, strangely, very bad at timing when it came to anything involving his son.)

That had to be all this was, too. It's not like the elder Agreste would disown or replace his son, just because he was modeling less and attending university… right? Adrien stifled his nerves and doubts, assuming a facade of perfect calm and well-honed poise before opening the atelier doors.

His father was seated at his desk centered in the bland, cavernous room, focus alternating between his monitor and sheafs of papers spread before him. His brow, already creased in concentration, wrinkled along with his nose at the invasion of noise from the construction down the hall. Adrien stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. Well used to the waiting game routine by now, he stood a few feet inside the doorway, tall and straight and silent and as expressionless as one of the many pillars lining the walls. Eventually, Gabriel’s expression eased, his hands stilled their frantic shuffling of papers and swiping of monitor screens, and he leaned back into his chair with a sigh.

“Adrien. Good evening. It’s quite a treat to be graced with your presence after all this time.” The sarcasm was evident and dripping even in his bland, measured tones. Subtle, but Adrien was used to picking up on it at this point. He’d had to learn the fine nuances of his father’s speech long ago, to protect himself from disappointment and repetitive gaslighting. Results had been mixed, but the campus counselor was a great help.

“Of course, Father.” Adrien dipped a minute parody of a bow, the smallest of false but socially palatable smiles gracing his lips. “Though it seems that my room has been a bit… misplaced. Am I moving out to my own apartment, now?” The long-stifled hope that laid in the back of his mind didn’t make it anywhere near his voice.

“Of course not!” His father quietly bellowed, offended rage just barely concealed. “You are just moving upstairs to make room for our new pet.” Interest in Adrien lost, his gaze went back to his monitor. “You will stay clear of the construction workers. I won’t have you marring yourself on their debris. You have a shoot coming up.”

“Of course, Father.” The response was automatic, and Adrien idly mused that the room sounded like an echo chamber at this point. But those two words were the only ones his father typically wanted to hear. “So, what kind of pet gets its own suite? Have we adopted an elephant? Or maybe a bull. Ah ah wait, a jaguar! A lovely black one from the Amazon.”

Gabriel scoffed at his son, attention still on his designs. “Nothing of the sort. They wouldn’t suit the image I’m going for. Now go … get settled, or… play a video game. I’m busy.” The man’s face shuttered closed, clearly dismissing his son. Adrien nodded. “Of course,” he chorused a final time, turning smartly and exiting the room.

Hopefully they’d managed to move his console and some decent games into the Blue Room. It was going to be a long and cramped vacation. But at least the Blue Room’s windows didn’t look like bars.

* * *

The next couple days passed with barely a sighting of his father, and Nathalie continued to be terse and unusually high-strung around Adrien and the construction workers. Gorilla was the only decent company, but not great for conversation, and speculating with him (at him) grew old fairly quickly, as did running through several old two-player games. So while Nathalie and Gorilla were out on an errand, Adrien snuck into his old room.

The noise from the construction work had tapered off some, as had the traffic in and out. He took the right-hand door into his room, the one that used to have a half-pipe beside it. The change inside was drastic. The half-pipe was gone, along with all the other distractions his father had foisted upon the room in a substitute for love and presence. Where it had been was, instead, a large, steel-reinforced glass wall that ran from the doorway to the bank of outside windows. Adrien ran his hand along the glass, narrowing his eyes at it. It reached the full two stories to the ceiling, and was several inches thick. There was enough room to stretch out his arms between the glass wall and the old bedroom wall to his right, without touching either, twice over. The climbing wall had been taken down, smooth white paint and extra outlets in its place.

“Maybe it is a wild animal,” he murmured to himself. What else would need so much reinforced glass? And  _ why _ was his room turning into a zoo. There wasn’t much to see past the glass, some preformed rocks were in place, along with several round openings in the original wall. The old windows looked like they’d been replaced with the thicker glass as well, at least on the first story. The second story ones looked like they might still open. Adrien walked the length of the narrow room-within-the-room, head tilting curiously at the new outside windows. They’d been tinted on the lower level, dark enough to block most of the light, and probably any onlooker eyes. Probably smart if his father was illegally importing tigers or something. Or maybe the company was starting a new leather line, and Gabriel had gotten some crocodiles, like Jagged Stone’s pet. Adrien laughed quietly at the idea of his father ever doing anything in line with the rocker’s aesthetic. It probably wasn’t a crocodile. Personally, he’d prefer something with fur. That wouldn’t eat him. Maybe a panda or a cheetah. Or a group of servals, those were somewhat legal, right? The room would probably be a nice size for them.

Shrugging to himself, he looked over the changes again, noting that the loft from his library, and the circular staircase up to it, were still there. The shelves were gone, though, and the railing had been raised and reinforced, much as the windows had been. There was a new door on the other wall. He didn’t remember what room was on the other side up there, but thought it was odd that a new entrance had been made to the wraparound loft. A way up to the viewing platform, he supposed. But why leave the stairs? The panda-cheetah-dile could probably climb up those, which would make the thick-paned glass precautions fairly pointless.

“Adrien.” Nathalie’s clipped voice nearly made him jump, and he spunt to see her scowling from the doorway. He applied his most innocent, award-winning smile. “Just reminiscing about old times, Nathalie. Any word on when this will be complete and I can meet my new coworker-sibling?”

Something flashed in her eyes, and her face tightened. “Not yet, and don’t joke about that. Now you need to get back to your room, I’m sure you have studies to catch up on, and you don’t need to catch tetanus from all this.”

Adrien’s lip twitched at that, the construction workers were actually keeping things surprisingly tidy, and not a stray nail was to be seen anywhere. “All caught up, Nathalie. The semester ended before break so we don’t have any carryover assignments. All new teachers when we head back.”

“Surely there’s something you can study.” She stepped aside, clearly dismissing him, and he ushered himself out. “Of course,” he replied dryly. “I’ll find something.” He could feel her gaze boring into the back of his neck all the way down the hall, before the sound of his old door shutting was followed by her heels clicking across the tile.

Nearly a week had gone by before Adrien had another chance to view the room. This time, he’d been invited, and had entered, as instructed, from the adjacent room on the third floor and stood waiting on the mezzanine where his library had been. He was mesmerized by what he found. Below him, stretching from beneath the mezzanine to the new glass wall on the other side of the room, was a saltwater aquarium. He leaned against the mezzanine rail, watching the play of lights and colors in the room-sized tank below. It had been filled earlier in the week with seawater, delivered by tanker trucks to a reservoir in the basement, and pumped in through a modified plumbing system via jets in the aquarium walls. It reminded him of a fancy pool, but ridiculously over-the-top and easily fifteen feet deep. The water nearly reached the platform beneath his feet, and only a few steps of the staircase were exposed before it sank into the lukewarm water. This was no simple grotto, it was a full recreation of a portion of a coral reef, complete with rocks, kelp, and sand, and populated with a variety of colorful coral, tropical fish, and other sea life. The space was too grand for just a few fish and crustaceans, though, and he wondered at what special “pet” his father had obtained to justify building this opulent setup. He hoped it wasn’t a dolphin. Or an orca. Adrien’s lips wrinkled in disgust; his father wasn’t one for flexing his wealth with exotic items, but he also wasn’t exactly one to care much about the ethics of keeping wild animals in what was apparently a personal sea-zoo. Obviously some kind of bug had gotten into his head for him to do this ridiculous renovation, but what? (Adrien was partly disappointed that it clearly wasn’t going to involve a clowder of wildcats, but the tropical scene beneath him was certainly pretty.) Still, he felt a mild sense of dread from the lack of information, Nathalie’s spiky evasiveness on the topic. His father was cold and silent, per usual, so that wasn’t adding to any alarm bells. But this whole thing was fishy, and he couldn’t help but expect, also possibly illegal. It didn’t feel right.

The soft beat of helicopter blades in the distance gradually broke into his pondering, growing louder until the  _ whep whep whep _ was hovering over the mansion. The roof was another story or two above, but he could hear the scraping of something - the landing rungs? - on the rooftop. But the beat of the copter blades didn’t slow as he’d come to expect from his father’s arrivals. There was instead a muffled ruckus, and a sound like giant doors being swung open, reverberating against a metal wall.

That wasn’t right.

Frowning, he looked up to the ceiling, as if he could see through it to the roof, and was surprised to see a multi-layered metal circle irising open. He’d been so caught up in thinking about the pool below and its future inhabitant that he hadn’t looked up to see that new renovation. The sounds from the roof were louder now, and he heard metal grating and creaking. Men were shouting as something slammed back and forth above, dull thumps punctuated by the soft ring of protesting metal. What had his father  _ done? _ The man himself appeared beside him, tall and cold as shadows approached the edge of the opening in the ceiling.

“Father… what?” Adrien was barely able to get the whisper out, a sense of dread sinking into his bones as he watched men scramble near the edge of the hole, directing a large  _ something _ closer. It was covered in a tarp, and rocked from side to side as whatever it contained thrashed around within. The young man winced, whatever was in there had to be uncomfortable. His father’s voice brought his troubled gaze back to the man beside him, who was almost smiling.

“You’ll see in a moment. They are magnificent, very fine specimens. They’ll be perfect for the promotion.” Gabriel deigned to look sideways at his son, a frown creasing his features. “Don’t get too close to them, now, I don’t want you falling in this water and drowning. You know you can’t swim.”

Adrien tried to keep his face passive, and not reflect his growing horror at whatever might be in the tarp-covered cage that was now being lowered through the ceiling. He knew quite well how paranoid his father was about him being around water. He was rather amazed he was even allowed in this room at all. But if this ridiculous setup was part of an upcoming promotion, he’d probably be expected to pose for photos with whatever fish his father had bought, so there was apparently an exception to the lifelong prohibition to stay away from pools and bodies of water.

“Right…” he might have said more, but he couldn’t bring up the defensive sarcasm as a curdling scream keened from within the swaying cage. Adrien winced backwards, nearly choking at the pressure he suddenly felt as the cry emanated around him,  _ through _ him. He looked to his father for support, but the man stood as unaffected as one of the marble columns in the front hall. How could he not  _ feel _ this?! Looking back to the cage as the tarp began to slip, the young man swallowed hard. Dread pumped through his blood, and his fingernails dug into his palms. Everything in him told him to flee, as the banshee voice from within the cage screamed wordlessly of revenge.

_ You will die. I will kill you. She’s not moving. You will  _ **_die._ **

He choked outright at the chilling voice invading his head, but his father took no notice of it. Had it not been out loud? No one else was paying it any attention. The bottom of the cage smacked the water below, and the tarp slipped halfway free, revealing a writhing red creature within. It looked like a massive eel, but with scales. The wild thrashing sent the bars of the cage clanging, and glimmering red scales scattered free at the violent, desperate struggle of the creature within. He could make out deep scratches and damaged patches of flesh where the unforgiving metal had ruined the beautiful red and black pattern. As the tarp slipped further, pulled aside by the water rising into the cage, fins appeared, lightly tattered and poking through the bars now, trapped by the creature’s struggle. It screeched again, and the tarp fell away. He was immediately riveted to eyes that were all-too-nearly human in a fierce face that almost wasn’t. The irises were the color of angry waves, or a storm at sea. A gaze of death, locked upon his father’s impassive face. The creature hissed, parched lips opening wide to reveal rows of long, needle-pointed teeth. A gurgling clatter rose from her throat as she pulled herself up in the cage, clawed hands gripping the bars as if she could crush the rusted metal to dust. Another hiss pushed past the rattling growl that reminded him of a snake’s warning, the one courtesy before it would strike.

_ You. Will. Die. _

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost a month into his break from University, Adrien finally gets to see the transformation his old room has undergone, and one of the new residents. But what kind of creature is this, whose words reverberate painfully in his mind, but has no effect at all on his statuesque father? And which is the greater monster, the captor, or the captive that has vowed revenge?
> 
> \------------------------------------
> 
> Please be forewarned, this chapter will have some minor violence. Nothing gory or permanent, this isn’t that sort of Dark Fic.

Adrien stumbled back, his breath caught in his chest as the creature’s murderous vow reverberated within his mind. His father’s demeanor remained unchanged, hands clasped primly behind his back, shoulders straight, face dispassionate. The creaking of the cage drew Adrien’s attention back over the water, and he gulped. The creature - a mermaid?! - inside it was rocking the cage, each swing bringing her prison slightly closer to where they stood on the mezzanine. Her electric blue gaze was sharpened upon Gabriel, her intent to reach him clear. The man’s brows finally furrowed slightly, and he cleared his throat.

“She’s too emotional. Flip it.”

Adrien winced inwardly at the phrase, a familiar one to his ears. But he didn’t have long for his confusion about the command to settle before electricity crackled down the chains supporting the cage, electrifying the bars. The red-scaled captive screeched, trying to throw herself back from the pain the bars caused, but the base of the cage was metallic as well, and she had nowhere to hide. She fell to the rusted floor, gasping and twitching, but her gaze never left Gabriel’s.

“That’s better. Dump her.”

A muffled affirmative filtered down from above, and the hinged bottom dropped free from the cage, loose end smacking the water a few feet below. The mermaid tumbled unceremoniously down the impromptu ramp into the water a few feet below, and Adrien winced as glimmering scales were left behind on the rough surface. Despite his fear, he dashed forward and gripped the rail of the mezzanine, concerned about her ability to swim after the brutal electrical attack.

“How could you?” he whispered under his breath, not sure if he intended for his father to hear or not. The man scoffed behind him, laying a stiff hand upon his shoulder.

“You cannot underestimate these things, Adrien. While they might look pretty, they are just animals, and very dangerous ones at that. To perform properly, they must be  _ taught. _ And this is a very effective way to do so.”

The young man shuddered with horror - that was no mere fish circling in pain in the water below, but a sentient being! His father had no right to keep her locked up like that, to literally fry her! He froze as her gaze turned, for the first time, to him, confusion laced with pain in the cold blue depths of her eyes. She narrowed her gaze at the young man, almost contemplative. But she soon shook free of her daze, and darted down and around the large rock formation at the center of the pool.

“See? Now she is much calmer and out of our way, we can bring the other one in.” The first cage had already been raised, and a second moved into place above them. Adrien felt himself grow cold, and the odd pressure was back. This cage… was far too quiet and still. What had she said - that the other wasn’t moving? He swallowed thickly. That didn’t bode well. This time, the cage was lowered without a tarp, revealing a curled, drying form on the bottom of the cage floor. Scales glistened orange and gold and cream on the prone form, the human portions a rich tan and the hair a mass of russet curls. And still, far too still.

“Did you kill her, Father?” Adrien’s voice was low and flat as he watched the cage descend, keeping half an eye to the pensive red being circling at a distance below, tail thrashing, and clawed fingers grasping at nothing as she swam. She had hardly calmed, but was certainly wise enough to keep her distance from the biting metal.

Gabriel scoffed. “Of course not. These are far too large an investment to waste so quickly. And they last far longer in captivity as a set. The tranquilizer merely worked better on the gold one than the red one; we’ll have to adjust the doses in the future.”

_ So she’s just asleep… _ Adrien thought to himself, the relief only moderate as the second cage stopped a few feet above the water. His fingers remained clenched around the rail, however, as the call to release the cage came and the bottom swung down, dumping the second mermaid into the water below. The first was quick to swoop in and ferry her away, pulling them both out of sight in the alcove behind the rock formation. He strained to catch a glimpse of them, worried for the golden one - could she breathe? How did they breathe? What about the red one’s cuts? But he was shaken free from his pondering as his Father spun him around, iron grip upon his shoulder, guiding him to the exit.

“There. We’ll let them acclimate for now. They’ll be calmer in the morning after the tranquilizers have worn off and the antibiotics in the water have had a chance to refresh their scales. Then we can assess how long it will be before they cooperate with the photoshoot.”

“Ph...photoshoot?” His father had imprisoned these girls as  _ props _ for the next  _ photoshoot? _

“Of course! They’re perfect for the seaside jewelry and swimwear line. We couldn’t have some gauche fake tails for the shoot, the authenticity of  _ actual _ mermaids will really sell the product.”

This time, when Adrien felt the chill settle into his core, he wasn’t sure if it was from his father’s callous plans, or the supernatural blue eyes behind him as the door closed on his new, unwilling coworkers.

* * *

“I can’t believe he’s done this…” Adrien was sprawled out back behind some of the dormant rose bushes the next afternoon, Gorilla watching over him from a nearby bench. The giant’s gaze was sad and sympathetic. “Did you know he was bringing… them?” A silent headshake, slow and somber, was the only response the bodyguard gave. He kept his eyes averted from his young charge, looking into the distance instead. That wasn’t particularly unusual, but… 

“Has he… done something like this before?”

Not a sound came as Gorilla pursed his lips tight, eyes fixed straight ahead to the far wall. Adrien sighed, his own gaze wandering that way, and across the expanse of stone until his eyes came to rest on the alcove holding his mother’s statue. It had been commissioned long ago, back when they were a family. He was too young to remember much about her when that had ended, and the vines had been allowed to grow up and over the statue since. She was almost fully obscured by the old overgrowth, now. He wondered again what she had been like, and how the rumors could be true. She looked so kind… Would she have stopped Gabriel’s current path? But his mother had passed beyond his inquiries and reach long ago, taking his older brother with her. Adrien groaned in frustration, fisting his hand around a hapless tuft of grass and pulling it free from the earth. 

“I can’t believe he’s this much of an ass... My own Father…”

Gorilla’s gaze turned back to the boy, watching as he idly extended his fingers to let the grass blades drift free onto the breeze. “I guess… I shouldn’t be too surprised, though, huh? It’s far more surprising that they’re  _ real _ than that he’s going to exploit them for a  _ photo shoot. _ ” Adrien huffed and kicked up from his back onto his feet, dusting his hands off on his pants.

“A photo shoot…” He stalked back into the house, hands in his back pockets, gaze pointedly averted from the heavily tinted windows of his former room, that was now someone else’s prison. Left alone behind him, Gorilla slowly stood, running thick fingers through his hair with a sigh and an odd glistening to his eyes as his own gaze brushed over Emilie’s neglected statue.

* * *

Adrien’s wandering feet found him entering his old room from the lower floor again, in the narrow viewing hall. Unfocused, he walked all the way to the end, thunking his forehead against the glass that now blocked out most of the light from the outside world. He sighed, breath fogging the surface as he scowled at his own reflection, his thoughts an absolute turmoil. He couldn’t just stand by while his father tortured these girls, half-fish and terrifying or not. But what was he supposed to do, smuggle them out through the kitchen in the laundry trolly or something? He bonked his head against the glass again; at least that was something. Maybe a few more impacts and he’d wake up in his old bed and be the only prisoner here again, instead of part of this outlandish plot to sell baubles. How ridiculously expensive must it be to hunt mermaids and convert a ballroom into an aquarium? For some  _ photos? _ His incredulous groan nearly covered the tapping of the glass. But as it sounded again behind him, he tensed - he hadn’t moved his head again, so what…

Looking over his left shoulder, his wide spring green eyes were met with the muted blue ones on the other side of the viewing glass. They were narrowed at him, and had lost barely any of the fierceness from the day before, but the intent gaze was more curious than cruel this time. He stilled his breath, unable to look away. With her face more relaxed like that, she was really quite pretty. Red streaks like eyeliner winged away from her eyes, and her hair was a rich indigo blue, floating around her face and tangling around the tips of her pointed ears. Her fangs were hidden away, for now, rose colored lips pursed in concentration as she studied him.

He suddenly felt very rude, staring back at her so openly.

“Uh… hi?” He pulled one hand awkwardly from his pocket and waved it in a jerky greeting. The mermaid shifted back away from the glass, but only slightly, before frowning and raising her own hand in mimicry and placing it against the glass. Her long, red fingernails made the slightest of taps against the surface, and his attention was drawn to the slight webbing at the base of her fingers. So much of her looked so human, but also just a little bit  _ not _ , he thought, as his gaze settled upon her waist where the very edge of gills could be seen, stretching to her back. His eyes went higher then skipped up to her face, his own turning a bit red. Her eyes met his, one of her brows arched now in amusement. 

“Yeah… I guess you can’t talk, huh?” Adrien chuckled awkwardly, moving his hand up to fuss with the hair at the nape of his neck. He felt like the one in the exhibit now, with the way she was looking him over so intently.

_ “Yes.” _ a voice quietly drifted into his mind, guarded, but firm. He blinked rapidly back at the bemused mermaid.

_ “I speak, and you hear. Who  _ **_are_ ** _ you?” _

His jaw dropped slightly as her gaze bore into his, “Uh, Adrien? Adrien. I’m Adrien. Uh, who are you?”

She frowned slightly on the other side of the glass, pulling her hand away, and shifted, shoulders back and tail twisting below her. He noted that it had begun to heal, the gouges no longer apparent, fresh scales forming small and pale where the old ones had been scraped away.

Her lips parted, showing a thin strip of her gleaming teeth in a gentle, but sinister, smile.

_ “La Mer.” _

A shimmer of gold streaked from the boulders several yards behind her, hovering just within view but shielded by the small kelp field.

_ “And le Feu.” _

  
Adrien chuckled wryly to himself - he got the clear impression that neither name was truly theirs, but it was a start. He wondered, briefly, if they were a sort of fae, and he was slightly doomed giving forth his own name. He could swear he heard the smallest chuckle in the back of his mind.   
  
“Sea and Flame it is, then.” He smiled back at the mermaids before him, doing his best to relax. This was a start. He’d figure things out from here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the attention this has gotten so far! I really wasn't expecting it to take off this quick, and life slammed me away from the keyboard longer than I wanted it to :( But I hope you've enjoyed these first two setup chapters - we'll start getting into the real plot coming up now :D
> 
> I love all the speculation I've seen going on, keep it up! I'm going to be a bit evasive, I warn you, because I'm tricksy like that, but feel free to ponder the plot in the comments ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter rewinds us a little bit, to give us Marinette’s perspective of her arrival to the Agrestes’ hospitality, her first official meeting with Adrien, and what we missed in between. The violence we saw from Gabriel in the last chapter won’t be a habit going forward. Don’t expect him to get nicer, the mermaids just play things a bit smarter so he doesn’t feel inclined to pull more punitive “teaching” tactics like that. He’s still a manipulative heartless thing though, and won’t turn suddenly likeable in this. But you can breathe easier that I won’t be dishing out a lot of torture or graphic scenes.

She paid no mind to the rasp of the metal against her scales as she lashed at her prison, testing the strength of the bars. There had to be a way out of this contraption, she needed to see Alya! Her screech of rage, fearful at her companion’s fate, was swallowed by the darkness beyond her wrapped prison. Alya had been snared first, and there was a trace of her scent coming into the covered cage, so she should be nearby. But she wasn’t answering any of her mental calls, and panic gripped her heart. Marinette scratched at the heavy tarp blocking her vision, red claws dragging runs and slashes into the material, but not enough to see through. The space beyond was dark as well, but far quieter, in a muffled, musty way. The loud machine that had carried them from the beach had gone silent, and the jostling was more uneven now. The stench of humans was everywhere as her cage was moved between them, muddled voices calling out directions before she abruptly felt the bottom of her cage drop a few feet. She grunted as she fell back against the cage floor as the descent evened out, bringing a bit of light through the cuts she’d made in the tarp. She screeched out her displeasure at her confinement, and renewed her efforts to fight the cage bars. Fresher air and open space, the scent of water, letting her hope for escape. But slamming the bars and projecting vicious threats to anyone who could hear her soundless speech only gained her a slight slipping of the tarp, a bare glimpse at a stark white enclosure with bits of silver gleaming nearby. 

_I have to get to her,_ Marinette thought to herself, and slammed her full weight roughly against the bars, lifting herself as high as she could to gain leverage with her tail. Maybe she could muscle the sides apart. Her fins got stuck between the bars, and she could feel the finer membranes tear, but she didn’t care. Her mind projected her despair, her oath of vengeance, to any receptive to it. She felt an answering flicker of shock and fear, mixed with curiosity as the tarp finally fell. She fixed her gaze in that direction, but a void looked back at her, standing stiff and unyielding. The man who had been on the screen! She hissed, clawing out and shifting her weight to fling the cage closer to him. If she couldn’t break the cage, she could at least break the man she blamed for hurting her friend. But he barely blinked, and made no sign he could hear or feel her mental assault. The younger human beside him had fallen back, but Marinette paid him no mind. That gold one already feared her, it was the silver one who reeked of ill intent.

“She’s too emotional. Flip it.”

The dispassionate word were followed by a crackling and the scent of ozone, her only warning before the metal she gripped lashed back at her with stabbing, arcing, burning pain. She howled, ripping herself away from the bars only with immense effort, but falling to the floor of the cage did her no favors. Her breath shuddered from her as the electricity coursed through her, then stopped, leaving her stunned and immobile. _Magic?_ she wondered, before the world shifted and dropped her into lukewarm water. The shock of the impact helped her regain her mobility, and she quickly regained her bearings, righting herself instinctively as she scanned her surroundings. There was a large cluster of rocks nearby, surrounded by kelp and coral. She dodged down and into its cover, needing the more natural comfort at her back after the painful lesson of the metal cage. Though far from safe, it gave her some cover to watch the pair on the bridge above. Another cage was moving into place now, and her gaze switched between it and the two men watching her.

_“So she’s just asleep…”_ A voice she didn’t know filtered to her mind, almost too faint to hear. If she hadn’t been straining for any sense of Alya, she would have missed it. _Who can speak to me?_ She thought to herself, circling below the cage. Her gaze went back to the younger golden-haired human, but the other cage was her priority. The bottom swung loose, dumping Alya like a misplaced sunset into the water. Marinette darted forward to secret her amongst the rocks, out of sight from the humans. She could hear them talking above her, the younger one quite distressed, the older exuding nothing but a cold void. The words weren’t clear to her at this distance, so she turned her attention to Alya instead. She was relatively unharmed, lacking the scrapes and gouges Marinette had gained by fighting the cage. There didn’t seem to be any outward injuries, just the unnatural sleep that had followed the sting of the flying metal dart. Marinette’s shoulders relaxed a bit, taking some comfort in the gentle movement of Alya’s chest and gills. She was breathing just fine. But worry tore at her heart. How long would she be asleep?

The humans above were moving. The dark hole the cages had come through was gone, replaced by yet another white expanse. The silver and gold were departing through a door, leaving Marinette alone to tend to her sleeping companion. 

But how long til they came back? And would Alya be awake by then?

* * *

Marinette wove yet another path through the sea grasses and coral of their glass and stone enclosure, as if one more circuit, slightly different this time, would reveal another secret, some way to escape this odd pen. But it was just the same rectangle of sand, with scattered plants and fish. Glass panels along two walls, one of which the sunlight filtered dimly through, high above the waterline. The glass was tinted like thin obsidian, and she couldn’t see what lay beyond it on the sun-side wall. The shorter wall just gave her a view of yet another white stone wall, much like the other two that completed the sides of the box. The top of the box was more of the same, but high above the water, and bounded on two sides by a walking path. Stairs led up and down them, in curves that reminded her of broken conch shells. But those stairs wouldn’t do her much good unless she did something incredibly foolish. They weren’t getting back out the hole in the ceiling they’d come through, in any case. And there weren’t any others she could see aside from a door blocked by the short glass wall, and another on one of the railed walkways. After her brush with the electricity in the cage, though, she was wary of the lightly sparking wiring along the stair rails and walkway. She wisely surmised that the same painful jolt would greet her if she tried to access the door her captors had gone through.

_“Marinette…”_ Alya’s voice, tense with concern and guilt, came across their bond and interrupted Marinette’s pensive swim. She paused her circling and returned to the stone shelter.

_“Don’t you dare apologize again. I’ll find a way out of this!”_ She looked sternly at the orange-hued mermaid tucked against one of the elongated boulders. 

_“But if I hadn’t insisted on going back to the shore to see Lila --”_

Marinette frowned, and swept up to Alya, placing firm hands on her delicate shoulders. _“No. You were tricked, and I wasn’t cautious enough, and that’s that. We’re here now, and we. Will. Get. Out.”_

_“But you_ **_warned_ ** _me…”_ Marinette cut her friend off with a gentle fingertip to her lips, then drew Alya in for a hug. The other woman sighed into her embrace, and the two hung there, suspended quietly in the water for a moment.

_“No more blame. We’ll find a way out and we’ll get back to Nino and forget this awful white pen, okay?”_ She combed her fingers gently through red-gold curls, and Alya nodded against her chest, squeezing her close. Marinette allowed herself a small smile. They’d be all right, she’d see to it.

Muffled sounds from the shorter glass wall drew their attention, and they shifted slightly apart, alert as a door at the end of the small space beyond the glass opened and shut. The golden-haired man, the younger one who’d been on the bridge, strode straight to the sun-wall and smacked his head right into the glass. Alya winced a little in response, an odd patronizing expression on her face. _“What a dumb human. He didn’t see it?”_

He repeated the action, seeming to mutter to himself as he did so. Marinette shook her head. She couldn’t parse any words from his mind, but his agitation and confusion were clear. There was no order to his thoughts, though, so she couldn’t even make out an image. Just a sense of frustration and frantic tumbling of ideas that were just beyond her reach. He thunked his head on the glass again, and Marinette signaled Alya to stay back, and stay silent. She herself swam forward, slowing as she approached the glass wall. Her blue gaze took in the metal framework that she’d examined a hundred times before during the past day, still wary of the electrifying effect of the cage. But the glass panels and wall seemed safe enough. As the young man thunked his head again, she rapped her own knuckles against the glass in return.

Hand poised near the glass to rap again, she watched as he froze, then slowly turned to look in her direction. It was clear he’d utterly lost himself in his chaotic thoughts, and she raised a bemused eyebrow at him. The sense of tumbling thoughts coming from him stilled and reordered. It didn’t turn into anything she could read, but his interest and curiosity was clear. He even drifted unconsciously closer as he locked his gaze on her, then slowly perused her features. She stared openly back at him, not surprised at his visual examination. He stumbled back after a moment though, clearly embarrassed, and moved his gaze back to her eyes. She lifted her eyebrows in question, just where had his thoughts gone?

“Uh… hi?” His spoken voice came muffled through the glass, but she could still hear it clearly enough. The human words weren’t as familiar to her as the ones she used with her own kind, a form of vocal language and empathic thought. But they were ones she knew. Their cultures did have occasion to cross, and knowledge was key to staying safe and concealed near humans. A lot of good that had done Alya and her…

He waved his hand, awkwardness exuding from him almost as clearly as the cold void had emanated from the older man the day before. The sudden motion had her backing instinctively, but she paused, choosing instead to raise her own hand in a shadow of his motion, placing her palm against the glass. His gaze was drawn to it, becoming intent and curious again. She watched as his eyes flickered over her form again, this time settling on the rise and fall of her gills, then up to the armor-scaled bra covering her chest. He turned as nearly as red as her tail then, spluttering a little as his eyes rocketed back to hers. She nearly laughed - was he so easily embarrassed by a woman’s form? He collected himself quickly, however, and she was impressed at how quickly his thoughts stilled and schooled, becoming almost unreadable.

“Yeah… I guess you can’t talk, huh?” He chuckled and fussed with his hair.

She shook her head to disagree, but his gaze was averted. She sighed silently in the water, reaching out with her mind instead. He had seemed receptive before… It was rare with humans, but not impossible. A curious discovery, though, that did lead to more questions.

_“Yes. I speak, and you hear. Who_ **_are_ ** _you?”_

She watched as his jaw dropped, a pause before he closed it again then replied aloud. “Uh, Adrien? Adrien. I’m Adrien.” She would have laughed at his awkward response if she’d been more relaxed. “Uh, who are you?”

Names were not something given lightly, at least not among her kind. How odd that he’d be so quick to give his. Was it customary for humans to be so thoughtless? Then again, the human Lila had freely given her name to Alya. Given how many lies the fox-haired girl had fed her companion, though, her name might not have been a true one.

Marinette wasn’t about to give her true name here. She chuckled internally, settling on a moniker for herself and Alya that would be safe to use. Inspired by their Nino, who said they were his ladies with hair of sea and fire.

_“La Mer,”_ she replied telepathically, indicating herself. She gave the name with a sly smile, letting the sharp points of her teeth just poke through. Not a gift, but a polite concession, one that, if he was wise, he would realize gave him no edge. She was not so foolish. Alya slipped from the cover of the boulders, approaching a meter or so closer, but staying within the cover of the tall kelp bed.

_“And le Feu,”_ Marinette gestured to the sunset-mer behind her. Adrien’s recognition at being played filtered through the glass between them, and her patronizing smile relaxed slightly as he chuckled. 

“Sea and Flame it is then.” Her sense of his thoughts returned to the jumble of disordered planning, and she could feel him try to reign it in under a veil of social politeness.

“So, how did you… Um, where do you come from?” He winced as her eyes narrowed quickly at the question, her hackles up. There was no way she would tell a human where their colony dwelled! “Sorry, sorry!” He quickly realized his faux pas, holding his hands up placatingly as he backtracked. “I mean… um… Well obviously my father is the one who brought you here but… how…”

_“First,”_ she interrupted, pleased that his stammering speech immediately stopped, his gaze riveted politely to hers. _“I have questions for you, Adrien of the White Room. Where… is this?”_

* * *

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(Or you can scream at me on my main account askbox on Tumblr, [EnberLight](https://enberlight.tumblr.com/). I'll welcome the company!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm. That didn't get us as far past where we left off as I planned. I guess the next chapter will come a bit sooner now that we're caught up with Alya? Thank you all for your patience, this year has been a Doozy. But I'm getting a handle on it! Keep leaving your theories in the comments, I love them. :D
> 
> Up soon: The Photoshoots! That'll be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the feedback! It boggles me a bit to see all these subscriptions. Please keep dropping your theories into the comments, we're getting into the good parts now.
> 
> And what's this, another chapter so soon? Within a week? What can I say, the muse is visiting. But no bettas, just mers ;)

_ “Where… is this?” _

La Mer’s voice echoed softly in Adrien’s mind, stilling his stuttering attempt at asking his own questions about the mermaids. He supposed it was only fair to answer theirs first - he wasn’t the prisoner in this case. He bit his lip at that thought, wondering how much of what was going through his head was carrying over to them. Did this telepathic communication work both ways? The red mer was starting at him patiently but with one brow raised again. What could she hear? What should he say? Did she want a map? She huffed out a little, and his gaze focused on the bubbles rising from her lips. Okay, okay, maybe not too much detail, better to start with basics…

“You’re at my home, in Paris,” he spoke aloud, his mind hanging a bit on the word “home.” It hardly felt like one, it had always been more of a prison… He saw La Mer’s eyes sharpen in on him there, and he cleared his throat. “This… used to be my bedroom. I didn’t get out much.”  _ Wasn’t allowed.  _ “But I’ve been going to school outside Paris. I got back for break and… Father hand done…  _ this _ . I figured he just wanted an aquarium for some weird reason, but…” His voice trailed off, as he looked to the side, remembering yesterday’s conversation. Or dictate, really. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He couldn’t look directly at the mermaids, but he saw her tail twitching in agitation behind her. His own fists were clenched.  _ How could he… _ “He’s releasing a new jewelry line soon, and wanted new models for it… Mermaid models.”

The water roiled around La Mer as she thrashed in anger, blue eyes blazing.  _ “He took us? To promote jewelry?!” _ Adrien’s gaze was riveted to her, and he swallowed hard, buffeted almost physically by her ire. She seemed to react to his frozen stance and wide gaze, and stilled her thrashing, relaxing the way her fins had stiffened up and away from her tail, the two long forward feelers ceasing their clawing motions to lie near her body again. 

“I’m sorry. If I’d known…” His apology was hollow even to his own ears. What could he have done? Sabotaged the tank? It would likely only have delayed things. And it’s not like anyone told him anything around here. The only one who might have clued him in was mute. And he seemed as in the dark as Adrien.

The mermaid shook her head, long indigo locks twisting and floating around her.  _ “His actions are not yours.” _ She watched with softening eyes as the young man nodded, clearly not convinced.

“I could -” he began, then silenced as she made a slicing motion with her hand before her lips. His brows knitted, puzzled at her interruption.

_ “Your speech, can you not use it like you did before, so it is not from your lips?” _

“Before?” His brows knitted further together, then lifted. He’d projected his thoughts at some point? Which? What had she heard? He caught her halfway chuckling on the other side of the glass.  _ Probably more than I’ve been aware of… _

_ “Yes,” _ came the answer echoing to his mind, and he could feel the embarrassment coloring his cheeks with heat.

_ “Okay so… like this? I think hard ‘at’ you?”  _ He tried not to squint comically as he intentionally focused his words within his mind. He relaxed a little at her slight smile and nod.  _ “Okay then… I could try and find a way to get you both out of here. But. I don’t know where you need to go? Or how to get you there safely.” _

_ “We were taken from the sea. A beach we visit sometimes. There are cliffs there, white ones that rise high on the shore, with arches.” _

Adrien nodded, he had a good idea of where that might be.  _ “ _ _ Étretat. It’s a few hours from here,”  _ he offered in reply, before his gaze was drawn to the golden mer. He could feel her at the edge of his awareness, a thick sensation of sorrow and guilt.  _ “What… What happened? How did he catch you?” _

The golden mer - Le Feu - winced, and the sensation of guilt thickened, almost palpable on his skin.

_ “I trusted someone I should not have.” _ The new voice entering his mind was rich and mellow, but laced with self-loathing. La Mer whipped around and swam to her friend, wrapping her arms around her, pressing their foreheads together. It looked like a private conversation followed, one Adrien was not allowed to overhear. La Mer loosened her grip on Le Feu, and swam slowly back to the glass while the golden mer hung back, arms wrapped around herself. The feeling of sticky guilt greatly lessened, but it was La Mer’s voice that continued the story.

_ “A sea-witch we trade with sometimes promised her a special item, a rare human artifact, one that would survive unscathed in the sea. Most new things… do not do well in the ocean waters. Usually our drop-points are safer, further from human gazes. But she changed the spot yesterday.” _

Adrien frowned, his mind moving to the next conclusion.  _ “But she wasn’t there. My father’s men were.” _

La Mer nodded, jaw clenched and her lips pulling back slightly so that the sharp points of her teeth glinted in the low light from the tinted windows.  _ “Correct. They blocked in the cove and stung us with flying needles, then there were nets. I woke up later, when we were riding in something loud. It dropped down here.” _

“A helicopter,” Adrien spoke aloud, forgetting to project. He ran his fingers roughly through his bangs, eyes closed. He could picture the scene as if he was there. Was this one of their abilities? Could they show memories, and not just share words? It seemed impossibly cruel. And well-planned. Did this mean his father knew a witch?! Two mermaids were swimming right in front of him, in his flooded former bedroom, so he supposed some outright magic wasn’t out of the question at this point.

“Damn.” The two mer waited, giving him time to collect himself. He could only wonder at the tangled mess his thoughts probably seemed right now. Adrien shook his head hard, as if he could rattle loose a solution. But riding with them down the street in a laundry cart until they flipped into the Seine was hardly an option. 

_ “The Seine?” _ The rich, mellow voice drifted into his mind again, amber eyes glittering in recognition and interest.

Shoot, he’d been loud inside his head again.  _ “Yes, it’s the river that flows near here. But we can’t use it to leave, it’s too polluted.” _

_ “But the Seine leaves land near our territory! A little itch is nothing to get out of here.” _ The golden mer had swum up alongside her red companion, nearly bouncing in the water in her eagerness. 

Adrien had to shake his head in response.  _ “Too risky. People get lung and skin problems from it, you’ll get infections, or worse. The fish don’t do well…”  _ An image flashed across his mind, the time he’d been exploring one summer and seen a massive fish-kill caught in a stagnating curve of the river. Both mermaids before him shifted, seeming to pick up on the imagery, and pulled back to converse alone.

_ “It would still seem worth the risk,” _ La Mer proposed.  _ “We are not mere fish.” _

_ “Even if I could get you there without getting us caught, even if you don’t get sick or  _ **_die_ ** _ from the pollution, it’d take you days to reach the sea. A car would be faster. A few hours, at most.” _

They seemed to consider this, and nodded.

_ “Then can you bring us this car?” _

Adrien’s heart sank. He didn’t even know how to drive, his father had never let him learn.  _ “I… will have to figure that part out. We’d need something big enough to hide you both, maybe fit in a tub so you stay wet? And we’d need a way out of the mansion first. I’ll have to come up with all of that…” _

The two mer seemed disappointed, but resigned. There was no way escape could have been so immediate or easy.  _ “We will plan, then,”  _ the golden mer offered, sincere eyes locking with Adrien’s.  _ “Just… don’t let us linger here too long.” _ She shifted a bit, a stiffness coming over her limbs as she wrapped her arms around her midsection, as if for self-comfort. He couldn’t blame her.

_ “I’ll do my best, ladies.” _


End file.
